Combination Soon Tofu (with shrimp, mussel, and beef) & Hot Stone Pot Rice. $7.53.
Located at 5445 Yonge Street in Toronto

This is one of the busiest Korean restaurants in the Yonge-Finch area in Toronto.  It’s essentially in Koreatown since most of the eateries and entertainment are Korean-owned.   A group of us from the Mon Sheong group met up tonight to have dinner at Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu.  Since we were a group of 12, we had to wait a little bit to get a table.   Even then, because the restaurant is not big on space, we had to split into two groups.  This place is very popular and there are always people lining up outside, so even though we didn’t get to sit together as a group, we were happy to get a table and eat.

The banchan dishes on our table. You can see the two eggs in the middle of the table. These were for the soon tofu — you crack open the eggs immediately into your steaming hot soup upon arrival for it to cook.

Their soon tofu soup is extremely popular.  They only have 9 items on their menu and the place is always bustling so it means that everyone keeps coming back for more.  I ordered the combination soon tofu which consisted of shrimp, mussels, and beef.  We had the standard banchan dishes — beansprout, soybean/kongjang, kimchi, and pickled radish.  It was all pretty good.

When my tofu soup came, I cracked open the egg that they provided into the steaming soup so that it would cook.  One spoonful of the soup told me how incredible their soup base was!  I ordered the mild spiciness which was a perfect blend of spice for me.  It ranges from white (no spice), mild, medium, regular spicy, to extra spicy.  I don’t think anyone in our group ordered the extra spicy one.  Two friends ordered the white kind, and they said that the soup base was a little salty.  I especially liked their tofu; it was SO soft.  I don’t think I’ve ever had such soft tofu before in a soup!  It was really well done.  The only criticism is that there was only one mussel and one shrimp in the entire soup.  I thought there would have been more.  The beef slices were also a little overcooked.  However, the meal was very filling as it also came with a bowl of rice.   Each item on the menu is under $9.  When I think of that, it really is such a good deal for dinner that I shouldn’t complain about the lack of ingredients.

For most of us, it was our first time dining at this popular Korean restaurant.

I’ll most likely return again for the soon tofu soup and also try some of the other dishes. 🙂